On Jan. 20, wasting little time during his first 24 hours in office, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum terminating federal remote work arrangements for millions of government employees. It was a pleasing move to many Republican lawmakers, the authors of a fistful of bills seeking to monitor or cull remote workforces, and to Trump’s corporate supporters, many of whom have rolled out their own in-person work requirements over the last year. Return-to-office (RTO) mandates — eschewing the opinions of experts who have found numerous positive benefits to telework — followed, as the new leader established a hardline on telework.
Such moves, paired with slashes to the federal workforce, have been praised by RTO’s proponents as wins for productivity and reduced spending, with portions of the employees forced to choose between in-person work or leaving their position. But few have acknowledged that the brunt of these decisions will be shouldered by already at-risk workers.
Dispatches From The Front 